Generating and utilizing motive fluid under pressure.



J. DOW. GENERATING AND UTILIZINGMDTIVE FLUID UNDER PRESSURE.'

Q APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I8, I9l6. 1,232,247'. Patented July 3, 19W.,

CONDENSER :NvcN-ron JoslAH now ev me, r1-enum! UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

JOSIAH DOW, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

GEENERAIING'A AND UTILIZING MOTIVE FLUID UNDER PRESSURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1917.

Application led September 18, 1916. Serial No. 120,726.

. asubject, of my application for patent, Serial No. 86.955. tiled March :27th. 1916.

In carrying out the invention forming the subject. of in v previous application a. mixture. of alcohol Ivapor and air. lioth iiiider pressure. was hui-ned Aaud the products ol' eoniluistioii. greatly expanded by comparison with the original body ot alcohol vapor and air, constituted the motive iluid under prcssure which was produced for subsequent use in a suitable` engine. Incidental to such production water vapor was added to the products of combustion for the purpose ot absorbing excess of heat produced in the confined spaces of the generator.

The object of my invention is to rende-r theprocess of power generation and utilization automatic by freeing it t'roin dependence upon any external source of supply Ilor the water or water vapor to be added to the products of combustion, and this object 1 attain by reason of the chemical composition of the motiie Huid exhausted from the ciigine in which it was used for the development of power.

In the accompanying drawing-- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of apparatus for the production and utilization of motive -fluid under pressure in accoi-dance with my present invention, and

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on a. larger scale, of one of the elements of said apparatus.

There are certain hydrocarbons whose combustion can be effected without production of free carbon, and as alcohol Ais the most available of such hydrocarbons it has been adopted by me as typical and will hereafter be the one referred to, although my invention isvnot necessarily limited thereto.

` In the accompanying drawing, l represents a pressure generator, 2 an alcohol sup- .ply pipe, 3 an air supply pipe, 4 a water supply pipe, 5 a pipe for vcom7eying the motive fluid under vpressure to thev point o; utilization, 6 a pipe for furnishing supply of air under pressure, 7 a vessel in which such air under pressure is caused to impart like pressure to the alcohol supply, and 8 a water reservoir connected'by .branch 9 to tlieair pressure supply pipe 3" so that corresponding pressure will be imparted to the water in said reservoir.' All of thcsc parts are similar in construction and operation to those found in my preceding application', hence a iiioi'e detailed, description of them here will be unnecessary.

The engine in which the pressure of the motive l'liiid is utilized for the production of power is represented at 10, the exhaust pipe 11 ilroiii this engine comii'iunicatiug with a condenser 12 and thelattcr being also iii communication through a pipe 13 with' a' pump 1-1 whose discharge pipe 15 communicates with the Water reservoir 8.

The chemical formula for ethyl alcohol is CEI-15CH and when the mixture ot alcohol and air is burned iii the generator 1 the products of combustion are carbon dioxid and water, the latter being, of course, in the form ,of vapor because of the high degree of heat .of said products of combustion.

The motive fluid exhausted from the engine 10 is therefore carboiiic acid and water vapor and in order to recover the wateirin liquid form it is only necessary to free the carbonic acid from the water vapor and reduce the temperature of the latter below the boiling point.

In lorder to etl'ect the rapid attainment of this result I maintain the exhaust at atiiiosplieric pressureso that the rapid evapora- -tion ot' the carbonio acid will quickly reduce the temperature of the water vapor, and I i'urther subject-thc exhaust to the action ot-v `an iiidepeiiden cooling agent, such as air or water.

With this object in view the condenser 1Q is constructed as shown iii Fig. Q, on refer-` eiicc to which it. will be observed that said condenser comprises a casing 16 containing.

upper. lower and intermediate chambers 20, 21 and 22, respectively, these chambers lieing separated troni one another byhead-s 17 and 18 and the chambers Q0 and-:'21 being connected to one another by nieaiis-oftiibes 19 extending troni one head to theeotlier across the cha'iii'ber '22, the chamber 20 be,-A ing in communication with the exhaust 'pipe- 11 of the engine. y

Surrounding the lower portion ofthe cas- 16 is a well 26. open to the aient thetop' aud in free communication with the chamber 2l, the lower portion of this well discharging through the pipe. 13.

Air, water or other cooling agent is admitted to the chamber 22 through a pipe 24 and is discharged therefrom through a pipe Q5, whereby this cooling agent circulates in contact with the tubes 19. As the well 26 is open to the atmosphere the motive fluid exhausted from the engine 10 is free from pressure as soon as it leaves said engine and rapid evaporation of the carbonio acid at once begins, with corresponding rapid cool ing of the water vapor, so that by the time the exhaust reaches the chamber 21 of the condenser the temperature of the watelr vapor will be reduced to the point of liquefaction, the circulation of the cooling agent in contact with the tubes 19 contributing to the attainment of this result.

Instead of the specific form of condenser described I can use any form of conduit in which the desired evaporation of the carbonic acid can be effected under the same conditions.

The water from the well 26 passes through vthe pipe 13 to the pump 14 and is thereby fed under pressure to the reservoir 8, the volume of water thus returned being suflicient to maintain the supply of Water or water vapor needed for admixture with the products of conbustion in the generator, in order to absorb the excess of heat, no extraneous supply of water being necessary.

I claim:

.1. The mode herein described of producing and utilizing motive fluid under pres sure, said mode consisting in effecting conibustion of alcohol, using the products of combustion as motive fluid in an engine, and adding to the products of combustion water derived from motive fluid exhausted from said engine.

2. The mode herein described of producing and utilizing motive fluid under pressure, said inode consisting in effecting combustion of alcohol, utilizing the products of combustion as motive fluid in an engine, separating from one another the carbonio acid and water vapor constituting the 1no tive fluid exhausted from said engine, and returning the resultant water to the products of combustion for the purpose of absorbing excess of heat. y

3. The mode herein described of producing and utilizing motive fluid under pressure, said mode consisting in effecting combustion of alcohol, utilizing the products of combustion as motive fluid in an engine, evaporating, at atmospheric pressure, the carbonio acid from the Water vapor in the motive fluid exhausted from said engine, and returning the resultant Water to the products of combustion for the purpose of absorbing excess of heat.

4. The mode herein described of producing and utilizing motive fluid under pressure, said mode consisting in effecting combustion of alcohol, utilizing the products of combustion as motive fluid in an engine, liquefying the water vapor contained in the motive fluid exhausted from said engine by freeing the carbonio acid therefrom at atmospheric pressure, and at the same time reducing the temperature of the exhaust by a cooling agent derived from an outside source, and returning the resultant Water to the products of combustion for the purpose of absorbing excess of heat.

5. The combination, in apparatus for the production and utilization of motive fluid under pressure, of a generator having an alcohol burner, an engine for utilizing the motive fluid under pressure thereby produced, a condenser for freeing the carbonio acid from the motive fluid exhausted from said engine, and means for returning the resultant water, under pressure, to the products of combustion in the generator for absorbing excess of heat therein.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JosiAH Dovv. 

